Food allergen testing

Food businesses need to label their nutritional content correctly and declare their allergens accurately, to help consumers make informed buying decisions and avoid the risk of allergic responses. As a business, you must be aware of the types of allergens that may be naturally present in food ingredients or food additives. This is where food allergen testing can help you. 

During the food production process, there are many stages when the product could become contaminated and cause harm to end customers. TÜV SÜD experts can assist you at every stage through comprehensive food allergen testing. This will give you and your partners such as retailers, restaurants and other operators confidence in product ingredients, while reducing the risks associated with food allergens. 

A food allergy is an exaggerated immune system response. Specific foods, including but not limited to peanuts, milk and eggs can trigger it. It can occur within minutes of consuming a food product. Food allergies have several symptoms, and some of these can be incredibly severe in nature, including swelling of the face, acute breathlessness, itching of the skin, a sore throat and, in extreme circumstances, even death. 

Food allergen testing ensures the avoidance of the presence of allergens in "allergen-free" food formulation. In addition, it also allows you to stay current with the food laws on declaration of allergens on food labels, as well as auditing and inspection standards and their requirements of food allergens.

TÜV SÜD is an independent certification body which is accredited to globally recognised standards. 

Our experienced experts can help you gain the trust of your customers by making sure that your products are of the highest possible quality. 

Our food allergy testing services, such as Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test, help you minimise risk by determining the presence of allergens at very low levels.

Our food allergen testing includes detailed assessment of 

• Celery 
• Eggs 
• Fish 
• Gluten in cereals (e.g., barley, oats, rye, wheat) 
• Lupin 
• Milk and dairy products 
• Molluscs (e.g., clams, mussels, oysters, scallops) 
• Mustard 
• Nuts (e.g., almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, walnuts) 
• Peanuts 
• Seafood crustaceans (e.g., crabs, prawns, lobsters) 
• Sesame seeds 
• Soy
• Sulphur dioxide and sulphites (at levels above 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/L) 

 

We also conduct: 

• Food allergen management training and audits. Best practices around food allergen management are covered. 
• Process and product audits according to customer requirements 
• Supplier audits to minimise risks from external sources